BACKGROUND

Calakmul

This large Maya center stands amidst the high forests
of southern Campeche, only 30 km from the Guatemalan border. The archaeological
site was first discovered in 1931 by American Biologist Cyrus Lundell while
conducting an aerial survey of the region. Based upon recent excavations
and epigraphic research there, William Folan and Joyce Marcus have concluded
that the ancient city of Calakmul was occupied from the Middle Preclassic
to the Postclassic periods. The apogee of the site, however, appears to
have occurred during the Late Preclassic through Late Classic times, the
period associated with Calakmul's numerous carved monuments.

Calakmul is one of the largest known Maya sites. It is estimated to
cover 70 square kilometers, and to have had a population of 50,000 during
the height of its power. The central urban core of Calakmul is delineated
on the north by a substantial wall, probably for defense of the most important
political structures and residences. Folan and Marcus also discovered that
the site is ringed by water management features including canals and arroyos,
isolating a central 22 square kilometers.

The area of the site open to the visitor today can be broken up into
two sections (see map). The first is the Central Plaza, a large open area
bounded by Structures II - VIII. The second is the Grand Acropolis, located
in the northwestern quadrant of Calakmul's central core.

Calakmul's Central Plaza (Structures II - VIII)

On
the south side of the Central Plaza stands Structure II. This pyramidal
platform is the second largest at Calakmul, and boasts a tremendous view
from its summit (see photo at top of page). It measures 140 x 140 meters
at its base, and is 55 meters high. Archaeologists have excavated portions
of the structure to examine its architectural history. Multiple construction
layers have been left exposed for the visitor. Visible architectural levels
extend back into the Late Preclassic, while the pyramid's ultimate construction
phase dates to the Late Classic period. Folan and Marcus noted that Structure
II is similar is size and construction to the massive El Tigre complex
at El Mirador. In fact, Calakmul may be physically liked to El Mirador
by way of a 38 km causeway (called a sacbe), though this feature
has not been completely confirmed on the ground.

A group of carved monuments stand at the base of Structure II, while
others are located on and within the structure itself. The two earliest
dated monuments at Calakmul are associated with this platform, including
Stela 43 (shown here). The other, Stela 114, was recently discovered within
a Late Classic building on Structure II, having been relocated from its
original position.

At
the summit of Structure II, a palace was constructed during Late Classic
times. Due to excavations conducted by Folan's project, we know that this
building (Structure II-B) contained nine rooms with 38 hearths, metates
for grinding corn, a sweatbath, an elevated platform with niches, an altar
or bench, and tombs. The Late Classic tombs were emptied in the Terminal
Classic period, when a new individual was buried with bone artifacts, ceramic
vessels, and a broken metate. Access to the structure became restricted
at that time, and eventually it was totally abandoned.

Structure VI, flanking the west side of the Central Plaza, was also
initially constructed in the Late Preclassic. This structure was later
remodeled, in concert with structure IV across the plaza, to create what
Mayanists call an "E Group". This particular architectural arrangement
was first identified at the site of Uaxactun, in group E, where the placement
of platforms and structures was found to align with the summer and winter
solstices as well as both equinoxes. A person standing upon the stairway
of Calakmul's Structure VI, facing east, would see the sun rise on the
summer solstice behind Structure IV-A, on the winter solstice behind Structure
IV-C, and on the equinoxes behind Structure IV-B.

Structure III, just outside of the Central Plaza to the southeast, was
excavated by Alvarez Aguilar and Armijo Torres in the late 1980's. It was
found to be a palace structure, housing as many as 20 to 30 people in its
12 rooms. As with Structure II-B, metates, hearths, and cooking vessels
indicate food preparation areas within the palace. Unlike Structure II-B,
however, Structure III was constructed in the Early Classic and was apparently
built to surround an elaborate tomb.

The tomb uncovered within Structure III is currently thought to date
to the fifth century A.D. The burial chamber was connected to the palace
above through a small duct, analogous to the "psychoduct" connecting
Pacal's tomb to the Temple of Inscriptions above him at Palenque, Chiapas.
Within the tomb itself, archaeologists found an adult male who was at least
30 years old when he died. The body had been placed upon a woven mat, which
itself rested upon five ceramic vessels. The body was coated with the red
pigment cinnabar. He wore one mosaic jade mask on his face, one on his
chest, and one on his belt. Three pairs of jade earplugs, a jade ring,
32 jade beads, 3 jade plaques, 8,252 shell beads, a stingray spine, and
five intricate ceramic vessels (in addition to those upon which the deceased
rested) were also found within the tomb. It was the conclusion of Folan
and Marcus that the tomb must have belonged to one of the early rulers
of Calakmul. Unlike most structures in the Maya realm, this one did not
see heavy remodeling or occupation in subsequent periods.

The above summary was compiled using the following resources:

Carrasco, Ramon

1996

Calakmul, Campeche. Arqueologia Mexicana 3(18):46-51.

1998

The Metropolis of Calakmul. In Maya, Rizzoli International Publications:
New York.